The entry portal to the Coronado Public Library Children's Library features the ""Wizard of Oz"" suspended glass panels. Each large panel has a scene from the Oz story illustrated by artist Brenda Smith. The Wizard of Oz Children's Library Portal began during the architectural planning of the major expansion and renovation project of the Coronado Public Library.

One of the many goals of this project was to double the size of the Children's Library. The Children's Library area would be located near the new lobby where a whimsical feature was envisioned with a connection to children's literature. The library was able to do just this as they commissioned Brenda Smith, a children's book illustrator, to create this unique and exquisite mural.

In addition, the library had to carefully select glass and installation companies to ensure the artworks longevity and attractiveness. This story was both well-known and well-loved, and it had a special connection to Coronado since its author and his family had spent several winters in Coronado, beginning in 1904. L. Frank Baum wrote several of this Oz books here, including ""The Marvelous Land of Oz,"" ""Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz,"" and ""The Emerald City of Oz."" Artist Brenda Smith, working with Gary Bell Design, had very successfully illustrated a variety of human and animal characters. A series of exploratory and later developmental meetings fleshed out which characters and scenes to illustrate, creating a new interpretation of the ""Wizard of Oz"" This version combined elements of both the original Baum book and the film classic of 1939.

Steele Group architects developed plans for a series of nine panels. The glass panels would slightly overlap and be suspended from floor to ceiling on steel cables. The panels would form an archway through which one would walk while entering the children's Library. The glass panels would display the art from either side of the panels and allow light to filter through from natural and/or artificial sources. This latter consideration was an important factor, entailing a long review to determine how much color saturation would be needed for the art, how translucent the surrounding glass should be, and which glass fabricator would be used.

After extensive evaluation, Visualution Inc. was selected to produce the glass panels. Visualution Inc. had just created a process for printing high-resolution art directly onto glass. Glass samples and proposed techniques were reviewed and approved.

Since the day of the unveiling, the Wizard of OZ Portal had been enthusiastically received by children and adults. The color images on glass seem to float, and its translucency gives the entire portal a light and ethereal presence. It was completed in 2006 the 150th year of L. Frank Baum's birth. This beautiful masterpiece is perfectly juxtaposed with the library lobby so that all who visit are able to bask in its glory and masterful detail.